Baking: Tart Aux Quetsches

I love pastry. I love the taste. I love the texture. I love the challenge of getting it just right.

My grandmother give me money for my birthday last week and with it I bought a pastry book. Today it arrived and I am very excited to get started.

Lesson One : Tart Aux Quetsches, or plum tart.  A great place to start as the pastry, a pâté brisèe, is effortless and requires just a few ingredients, much of which I already had.  I was delighted with my pastry, however I think I needed to turn the oven down a little and leave it in there a little longer for better results.  Hopefully next time I will have more success, it was tasty all the same. 

What you need:
For the Pate Brisee (pie dough):
125 g butter, diced
250 g flour
40 g granulated sugar
1 tsp salt
125 ml cold water

For the Filling:
500g Plums
50 g plain, fine breadcrumbs
25 g  sugar
1/2 tsp cinnamon (optional)

Method:
(1) Mix the butter, flour, sugar and salt together in a mixer until they resemble find breadcrumbs.

(2) Add the cold water until the mixture is smooth.

(3) Remove mixture and mould together to form a ball and cover with cling film.

(4) Place in oven for 2 hours to chill.

(5) Sprinkle some flour on your work surface and roll out the pastry to fit your dish, it should be around 3mm thick.

(6) Place your pastry in your pastry tin and trim the excess so that it is flush against the rim.

(7) Prick the pastry base with a fork several times and cover the base with your breadcrumbs, this will help keep your base crisp when you add your plums.

(8) Heat your oven to 180 °C (fan assisted)

(9) Cut your plums in half and remove the seed and place in your pastry case in a decorative fashion.

(10) Cook in the oven for 35 to 40 mins, you want your pastry golden and your plums browning slightly.

(11) Remove from oven and sprinkle your sugar and cinnamon mix over so that it melts into the plums

(12) Allow to cool slightly, but serve warm.